The varsity baseball Eagles will begin the season in earnest this week with a full compliment of players following a long and successful basketball campaign.
Many of Cloverdale’s key veterans have returned and are eager to hit the ground running on the spring diamond.
Under veteran coach Ben West, the Eagles posted a strong, 12-8 record last spring, and may be just as good this year.
“Our first game was against Sonoma Academy, and we lost (14-6). We didn’t have our full roster yet, the basketball team was still making their run in the state tournament,” West reported.
“We played Saturday night in Healdsburg (8-5 loss) and the boys competed hard for the entire game. Some of our athletes went into it with only a week of practice under their belt, most teams have been going at it for six weeks now. I am proud of how well we competed in the contest and I’m confident moving forward into the season,” he added.
The good showing against Healdsburg came at a price, with senior star Gabe Wlodarczyk lost for several weeks due to a broken hand.
“We’re really going to miss Gabe’s leadership on this team until his return, he’s been a great presence and has been the leader this team really needs,” West said. “Losing him is a big blow, and we hope for a great and speedy recovery, but I’m confident that our team will step up and continue to improve moving forward.”
Cloverdale is loaded with veteran talent, featuring returning standouts; senior four-year outfielder David Alvarez, junior Caden Axell and sophomores Dylan Jones, Emilio Diaz and Nick Beeson.
Other key players include junior first-baseman Casey Lemley, junior catcher Ayal Fitchelberg, junior outfielder Dylan Gloeckner, junior outfielder Dom Vellutini, junior outfielder Ryan Moffett, senior utility-man Kagen Jones and sophomore infielder Gradin Schweikl.
“Kagen and Dom will be vital to the program because they can play multiple positions,” West noted. “Casey will be taking over at first base and Ayal has been catching and improving on a regular basis. We also have great athletes who will be important to our success in Ryan, Gradin and Dylan Gloeckner.”
Scheduling notes
The Eagles (0-2) will resume pre-league action this Friday, March 18 at Credo (6:30 p.m.) and kick off the NCL1 campaign on Friday, March 25 at Kelseyville (1 p.m.).
